Microsoft is updating Outlook and Teams to make things a bit easier for hybrid workers.
People around the world are still figuring out if they’ll be returning to their offices, continuing to work from home, or splitting their working hours between those contexts. That means a given company probably has some mix of people working virtually and in the office.
Outlook now acknowledges this reality with new RSVPs that allow people to say if they’re planning to attend a meeting via something like Teams, which according to Microsoft now has more than 270 million users, or if they’ll be participating in-person.
“In our survey,” Microsoft says, “38% of hybrid employees say their biggest challenge is knowing when and why to come into the office, while only 28% of companies have established team agreements about who will be working from where.”
The company is also bringing Loop components—which it describes as “a new way to ideate, create, and make decisions together”—to Outlook; it debuted in Teams in January.
“Now you can brainstorm, complete action items, and get the latest status from your team without having to switch context or apps,” Microsoft says. “A single component can be updated at the same time whether you are in Teams or Outlook.”
Teams is also being updated with a feature called “Speaker coach,” which “uses AI to privately provide guidance on your pace, notify you if you are interrupting someone, and remind you to check in with your audience” as well as the ability to assign live interpreters during meetings.
Microsoft says Teams will also get a new “Inspiration library” that “turns insights into action with access to curated content and best practices from top sources like Harvard Business Review and Thrive.” Other features, such as Microsoft Whiteboard, will also reach more Teams users.
Teams has a new feature called “front row,” too, and Microsoft says it “brings the video gallery to eye level at the bottom of the screen so people in the meeting room can see remote colleagues in a more natural face-to-face interaction—similar to as if they were in the same physical space.”
Other changes include expanded availability of shared channels in Teams Connect, the combination of the “cameo” and “recording studio” features in PowerPoint for better virtual meetings, and the introduction of an AI-powered Surface Hub 2 Smart Camera.
Microsoft also revealed “a seamless way to integrate your users’ mobile identities with Microsoft Teams collaboration and productivity” called Operator Connect Mobile, which it says can “provide enterprise-grade connectivity, resiliency, network quality, and a joint support model.”
The availability of these features varies. Microsoft says front row is available now as a preview and that Loop components in Outlook are available now; the new RSVPs for Outlook, speaker coach for Teams, and PowerPoint features are set to debut in the second quarter.
